One Cent Thief: A New Series Inspired by the Infamous Jutawan Satu Sen

As a proud 90s Malaysian kid, we grew up with an abundance of urban legends and crime stories. From the tragic case of Monafandey, to mass hysteria cases at local schools, these stories were in the back of our minds, armed as conversation starters.

But there’s one unique case that raised so many eyebrows when it first came out: the legend of the one-cent thief or as the media called it then; ‘Jutawan Satu Sen’.

In 1990, a young executive stole a large number of funds from the now-defunct Hock Hua Bank along Jalan Raja Laut. According to urban legend, Aman Shah hacked the bank’s system and stole one cent from customer accounts at Hock Hua. But unfortunately, it’s not true as the name ‘One Cent Thief’ was only coined by the media back in the day.

However, he did steal a large sum of cash from Hock Hua Bank - millions of ringgit to be exact. His adventure started when he was sent for a computer course, where he learned the ins and outs of digital banking. Sneakily, he allegedly transferred cash from numerous customer accounts into his own - which made him filthy rich.

He then went on a luxury shopping spree by purchasing super sports cars of the time; Porsche Carrera, Lamborghini Countach, Mercedes Benz 300SL and more.

Sadly, his gangster paradise era (RIP Coolio) came to an end when his riches were featured in Sekapur Sirih, a famous talk show back in the day. His former manager watched the episode and felt he was so sus, made a police report - and the rest is history.

Fast forward to 2022; a new series called ‘One Cent Thief’ will be out from 8 October onwards. Starring Syafiq Kyle, Sofia Jane, Faizal Hussein, Amerul Affendi and Azira Shafinaz with Ariff Zulkarnain on the director's chair.

Created, written and developed for television by Alfie Palermo, the series explores a similar theme but in a modern context, possibly inspired by the stories of Jutawan Satu Sen. Weirdly enough, the main character in the series was named Iman Syah. Sounds familiar?

Aman Shah also posted a status on Facebook in response to seeing the Once Cent Thief materials out on social media.

Personally, we’re excited to see a local legend being made into an action-packed series featuring the best names in the industry.

Once Cent Thief will be available for viewing starting 8 October simultaneously on Astro Ria, Astro Shuang Xing, Astro Vinmeen and Primetime.